We’ve started painting the dining room. Paint is a wonderful thing. In a matter of hours, one can change the appearance of a room, update a space, and create a clean look.
However, no paint job is complete unless you repair the dents and dings in the wall. Spackle, putty, and sanding are just a few of the things you have to do in order to prepare the walls. Unfortunately, this work does more than update a worn out look, it covers history.
For instance, on this north wall of the dining room, there are several holes in the upper section where we’ve hung pictures of family and friends. On the lower section, there is a scrape where one of the kids’ chairs fell back during a particularly raucous game of Risk. Another ding was a result of a candlestick which fell during a holiday party in the winter of 1994.
The dents are reminders of family history. The blemishes are markers of our life together. They paint a picture. They tell a story.
I am grateful for the dents. I am filled with appreciation for the marred walls.
I will miss them.
